The present invention relates to liquid detergent compositions which are stable in the presence of hydrogen peroxide.
It also relates to processes for their preparation and their use.
The detergent compositions which can be marketed in a liquid form usually contain, in addition to the solvent (which may be water or an organic solvent), surface-active agents, builders, which are frequently phosphorus derivatives and especially phosphates, and various other adjuvants which render the liquid homogeneous and stable and impart to it certain properties which depend on the particular use for which they are intended.
These compositions can be in the form of liquid solutions. emulsions or suspensions and may optionally contain solid particles.
In order to improve the performances of these liquid compositions, it has been proposed to add to them peroxide derivatives and more especially hydrogen peroxide.
However, the introduction of such compounds entails serious difficulties; the liquids tend to separate into several phases during storage and their active oxygen content decreases with time. Several proposals have been advanced in order to solve these problems, such as the use of stabilizers and of two separate compositions which are mixed at the time of use. None of these proposals, however, has proved satisfactory, either because the physical and chemical stability of the composition was still inadequate or because the detergency was inadequate, or because the method of use was rather impractical.